Story of Us
by Kojakk
Summary: Mirajane Strauss, a talented and kindhearted girl has her eyes set on Magnolia University, one of the top institutes in the country. However, coming from a poor family, she is unable to afford tuition. She gets a job as a barmaid, and everything is great. It looks like she'll be going to the school of her dreams. However, her boss' grandson Laxus seems to have other plans. AU.
1. Chapter 1 - Demons and Dragons

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

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**Chapter 1: Demons and Dragons**

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She closed the textbook and let out a deep sigh, a sigh that was unheard in the busy bar as it seemed that every single patron had already drank past their limit. For a split moment, Mirajane thought that she was the only person in the entire bar who was sober, the only person who hadn't drank away her problems. She had always been a good student, that was a fact that was well known by everyone who knew her. As a result, the board of eductation were more than happy to grant Mirajane a scholarship to Magnolia University, the college of her dreams. However, she still needed to raise some money in order to fund her tuition. That was the only reason why this young, studious high school senior was in a bar on a school night.

"What do you have there, Mira-chan?" a voice called out, causing the startled white haired girl to turn towards the direction of the voice. At first, it looked like nobody had called her, but then she looked down towards the ground. A very small man was waving at her. Mirajane knew this face well, it was her boss, Makarov Dreyar.

"Nothing, sir. I was just doing some light reading," Mirajane told him sweetly, a faint smile appearing on her lips, but the young girl's tired face gave everything away. She used her elbows to hide the textbook that was she was reading. Makarov was not convinced. He leaped onto the stool besides Mirajane's, standing but still only managing to reach her shoulders.

"Let me see that," the old man said, as he swiped the textbook that Mirajane had tried so hard to hide. He opened up the book, flipped through it's pages, muttering words under his breath as he did so. After he had flipped through the whole book, he put it back on the counter. "Ah, I don't understand a word of it. It's been a long time since I was in school," he let out a deep sigh. The melanholic expression on his face didn't last long though as he looked back at Mirajane.

"But you don't need to hide anything from me, Mira-chan. If Mira-chan needs to study, then she can," he told her, cheerfully. Mirajane was speechless. She was only 17 years old, much too young to be working in a bar. However, she had lied to Makarov when she had applied for the job. She had told him that she was 21. Mirajane was quite developed for her age, and could easily pass for an adult, so she thought that he had been fooled.

"Sir... I..." she began, but Makarov stopped her by holding a single finger up to his lips and making a 'shh' sound. Mirajane stopped speaking immediately. Makarov was a small man, but she had never met anyone more intimidating. Fortunately, more often than not, her boss was in a good mood. Makarov grinned as he looked at Mirajane, the girl still not really sure how to feel. It was clear that Makarov knew she lied, but he didn't really seem mad at her.

"Mira-chan, do you know why I employed you, despite knowing that you were underage?" Makarov asked slyfully, confirming Mirajane's suspicions that Makarov had seen through her little fib. She didn't reply with words, she simply shook her head. Makarov let out a sigh as he sat down on the stool. "It's because I think you're a good girl, a honest person. If you want to work in a place like this, you must really need the money, right? Well, I'd rather you work here than at some other type of shady place," he explained with a sombre tone. "So, don't lie to me. Okay?" Makarov smiled, a genuine smile.

Mirajane could feel herself tearing up, but tried her best to not cry in the bar. Whenever Mirajane cried, she would generally end up bawling. There was no such thing as silent tears when it came to her. However, no matter how hard she tried to surpress it, a single tear came rolling down onto her cheek. She wiped it away. "Yes, sir," she sniffed, in such a soft tone that had Makarov been further away from her, he wouldn't have heard it. The old man opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even get a word out, the door slammed open, drawing both the old man and the young girl's attention towards who was making the ruckus.

Standing at the door was a stockily built man with spiked up blonde hair. A brown fur cape was draped around his shoulders and massive earphones were resting on his neck. A strange attire indeed, Mirajane thought, as the man began to walk towards the bar, presumbly to order a drink. However, his eyes were not focused on Mirajane, the barmaid. No, they were focused on the person sitting beside her. Mirajane turned to Makarov, who had a shocked expression on his face, to the point that it almost looked comical.

"Lax...Laxus!" Makarov managed to stutter, his voice a mere croak. The surprised expression on Makarov's face seemed to amuse the man known as Laxus though, as a smirk appeared on his lips. He grabbed a stool and sat down, his eyes left Makarov and drifted towards Mirajane for a split second, before turning their attention back to Makarov, who still looked dumbfounded.

"Oi, Gramps. Isn't this one a bit too young for you? I mean, she must be around my age," Laxus said, gesturing towards Mirajane with his head but not even glancing towards her direction. At that moment, after hearing that comment, Mirajane decided that she didn't really like this guy. But wait. What did he call Makarov? Gramps?

"It's nothing like that, you idiot!" Makarov snapped, defensively. Mirajane was shocked, she had never seen her boss snap at someone like that. He was always so polite to everyone, but the way he spoke to his blonde stranger had an air of familiarity around it. She wouldn't have been surprised if these two really were grandson and grandfather. Makarov turned his head towards Mirajane. "Sorry about this, Mira-chan..." he apologised, his tone changing completely from before.

At this point, Mirajane felt the need to come to her boss' defense. She looked Laxus in the eye and smiled. It wasn't a genuine smile, but it wasn't a fake smile either. She had decided that she didn't like this person, but even then, she barely knew him. She should give him another chance, at the very least, even though he had messed up his first impression. First impressions were important, but she still felt compelled to introduce herself. After all, this person was Makarov's grandson. He must have inherited some of that kind personality, right?

"I'm Mirajane Strauss. I... I work here," she said, pausing slightly in the middle after looking at Laxus' face. Now that she got a better look at him, she could see a scar coming down his right eye, which intimidated her. The scowl that was apparent on Laxus' face didn't help either.

"I'm sure you do," Laxus simply stated, looking completely unimpressed. As he said those rude words he didn't even bother to acknowledge Mirajane, looking towards the bottles of alcohol that were behind her, rather than at her. He then stood up and walked behind the bar, scanning through the different bottles until he found out that he liked. He grabbed it, uncorked it before chugging it down, then and there. He then slammed the empty bottle onto the counter, wiped his lips before walking away, heading towards the stairs that led to the bar's second floor. When he was halfway up the flight of stairs, he looked back at Makarov.

"Gramps, you still got my room? You didn't rent it out to anyone, did you?" he asked, looking down towards Makarov, who was still sitting down on the stool. He didn't reply, and it seemed like Laxus got impatient and decided to take Makarov's silence as a 'no'. "Good," Laxus muttered as he climbed up the stairs. Mirajane watched as he climbed, and didn't take her eyes off Laxus' back until he was completely out of her sight. After she couldn't see him anymore, she put her hand on the bottle that Laxus had left, intending to throw it away. However, before she could get a touch on it, a hand had already swiped it away. Makarov's hand.

"Sir, are you okay? Is the bottle not empty? I thought..." she began.

"No," Makarov simply stated, as he jumped off the stool, the bottle still in his hands. "Your job is to serve the customers. That person wasn't a customer, just my idiot grandson. That's why I'll clean up after him. You don't worry about it," Makarov told her, as he walked away. However, much like Laxus had done earlier, he stopped halfway and looked back at Mirajane. "You can go home. Get some sleep. It's Thursday. School tomorrow, right?" he told her, as he he continued on his way. Mirajane opened her mouth to speak.

"But there's 2 more hours until my shift is..." she began to say, but Makarov had already walked away, having left the building. Mirajane sighed. She was pretty confused. If Makarov had a grandson, why hadn't she seen him before? Maybe he lived very far away. That would explain why Makarov was so surprised to see him show up today. While she was deep in thought, Mirajane ended up knocking her textbook onto the ground. She went over to pick up, but a hand had beat her to it. The person who had picked up her book was none other than Laxus. However, unlike before, he was wearing only a yellow bathrobe.

"A textbook?" Laxus said, curiously, not bothering to return the book to Mirajane. Instead, he flipped through the pages of the book, similar to how Makarov had done it. Afterwards, he held the book in front of Mirajane, who accepted it without saying thank you, uncommon for her. "Whoa, I said you and I were the same age earlier, but it seems like I was wrong. Thermal expansion? What are you, a high school student?" Laxus laughed, as he took a seat that Makarov had just vacanted. Mirajane looked away. She didn't think that guys like Laxus were the company that she wanted to keep.

"Yes... I'm a senior," she told him, stuffing the book into her purse. Normally she would have carefully placed the book, organizing the contents of her handbag so that everything fit perfectly. However, this time, she hastily stuffed the book in before zipping the purse. She just wanted to leave the place immediately. Laxus didn't seem to reply to what she said, but it was obvious that he was shocked that a high school student was working at a bar. She picked up the purse and began to walk towards the exit, only muttering a quick farewell to the blonde man as she left. But as she passed him, she felt someone grab her arm. She turned around to see Laxus holding onto her wrist.

Without expression, Laxus opened his mouth. "The name's Laxus," he said, formally introducing himself. "Laxus Dreyar." he continued, before letting go of the girl's wrist. And with that, he got back up off the seat and disappeared up the stairs, not even bothering to look back this time, leaving Mirajane standing there, not really sure what to think. At first, she thought that maybe he had some manners after all, actually introducing himself. But then again, it wasn't very gentlemanly to grab a woman's hand without warning. Mirajane began to rub her wrist. At first, she thought that Laxus would have been able to crush her hand, but her wrist wasn't sore after he grabbed it. She could still feel the warmth of his hand on her wrist.

"Strong... strong grip," she murmured, before turning around to take her leave.


	2. Omake- The Dragon's Clan

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

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**Chapter 1.5: The Dragon's Clan**

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"Winona couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her father's mouth..." Mirajane read, she said the sentence in a hushed tone, as if she didn't want anyone else to know she was speaking. However, in reality, Mirajane was unaware that she was even talking aloud. It was a habit of hers to talk aloud when she was reading in her head. Quickly, she turned the page, but before she could set her eyes on the page, someone had swiped the book from her hands. She looked up to see Laxus staring down at her, an visibly irritated look on his face. He gently put the book down on the counter.

"Do you mind?" Laxus asked, his voice was strained. "I'm trying to play pool here," he said, as he pointed with his pool cue at the pool table that Makarov had recently purchased for the bar. "Good investment by the old man, I have to say," Laxus admitted, a smirk evident on his face as he walked back towards the table. He got into position to line up a shot. "Besides, aren't you suppose to be working? Unless the old timer pays you to just sit around and look pretty, in which case, I humbly apologise," he said sarcastically, hitting the shot a split second after those words came out of his mouth.

He missed.

"Tch!" Laxus grunted in frustration. At that moment, he looked like he was going to snap his pool cue in half and turn the table over. And despite the fact that she had only met him the night prior, Laxus definitely looked like a man that would do something like that. However, instead of losing his temper, he let out a deep sigh and put the pool cue back on the table before settling down at the bar. "Hey, mind getting me a drink?" he asked casually.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" Mirajane asked him, as she folded the corner of the page she was on. After she had done that, she closed the book and placed it on the counter, awaiting Laxus' answer. The blonde man looked away and muttered something in annoyance under his breath, a word that Mira couldn't quite catch. "What was that, Laxus? What did you say?" she asked, curiously. The annoyed expression on Laxus' face didn't change.

"Nothing. Don't be so nosy," he scolded. "And water is fine,"

"Coming right up!" Mirajane replied happily, as she turned around, grabbing a clean, empty glass as she did so. She then took the jug and began to pour, only stopping when the glass was more or less three quarters filled. She then handed it to Laxus. "No charge," she winked, but the man didn't take the joke as he took the glass without even a word of thank you. He chugged down the entire thing in one go before slamming the glass onto the counter.

"Man, it's warm. Almost summer, I guess," Laxus muttered, as he grabbed Mirajane's book. He began to fan himself with the paperback novel, much to Mirajane's chagrin. She gave him a stern look, but in the end, it turns out she wasn't really that intimidating. She didn't think it mattered though. Even if she was, Laxus probably wouldn't have stopped. "By the way..." he began, as he stopped fanning himself. "What exactly did Winona do to get her dad so mad?" he asked, grinning.

"What? I don't get what you mean," Mirajane replied, genuinely confused.

The grin on Laxus' face only got wider, as he took the book and showed it to her. "I meant in this novel of yours. You might not have noticed, but you've been reading out loud for the past hour or so while I was playing pool. I was listening. I ignored it at first, but it was really starting to bug me... that voice of yours," he told her, as he put the book back on the counter.

"Oh, the book! Well, Wiona went against her father's wishes and..." she stopped speaking, as she thought back to what Laxus had just said to her. He had mentioned her voice. Her voice... being annoying? Surely not. Laxus was the kind of guy who said what he felt like, sure enough, but Mira didn't think he could be so rude directly in someone's face. "Wait, my voice bugs you?" she asked. There was no anger in her voice, merely disappointment. Just when she thought she and Laxus were getting along.

"Don't take it personally, princess," Laxus sneered. "I just can't stand innocent girls like you. But don't get me wrong, I really am interested in the book. Won't you tell me?" he smirked, but Mirajane remained quiet for a couple of seconds before answering.

"Wiona's father is mad because Wiona disobeyed him. She fell in love with a commoner, Wiona comes from a line of nobles, you see... she disobeyed him by running away with the commoner. They got caught. I'm on the bit where he's scolding her for running away," she told him, and she could tell that Laxus had been listening intently, hanging on every word that came out of her mouth. He nodded after she finished her explanation.

"Well, I thought it would be something like that," Laxus murmured, as he raised a single eyebrow. "Doesn't that remind you of someone though?" he said, looking towards Mira's direction. This time, it was the white haired woman's turn to raise an eyebrow. Laxus was surprised that the young barmaid couldn't see that the situation of the girl in the story was similar to her own situation. "Well, isn't she like you? Wiona, that is. I mean, I doubt your parents wanted you working in a place like this," Laxus pointed out, reminding her of the fact that she was an underage person in a bar.

"Well, what they don't know can't..." Mira began, unsure of how she should reply. In a way, she was in the wrong here. All this time, she had been thinking that Laxus was some sort of bad guy, that it would be wrong for her to be in his presence, that he would be a bad influence. As true as those things might have been, she couldn't deny that she was lying too.

"What they don't know can't hurt them?" Laxus said, taking the words right out of Mirajane's mouth. He said it in an almost mocking tone. "Is that really what you think? Ignorance is bliss? You read the story, you know it better than I do. You might get caught," he told her. "And what are you going to do then?" he continued, as he took the book, handing it over to her. "Why don't you read and find out what happened to Winona?"

"I...I already finished the book. This is my second time reading it," Mirajane replied, calmly. She wouldn't let Laxus' words get to her. At first, they hurt, but the sting would go away soon, she was sure of that. After all, Laxus didn't know her that well. He knew that she was underage and working as a barmaid, but that was it. Who was he to judge her? He had no right to say anything.

"Eh, really?" he muttered, putting the book back down again. "Alright, then. Tell me what happens. What did Winona's father do? What was her punishment for disobeying him?" he asked, curiously. His eyes lit up as he said this, he sounded like he really wanted to know, but Mirajane could read it in his face. It looked as though he already knew the answer.

"They disowned her, of course." Mirajane simply stated, rather bluntly as well, which seemed to catch Laxus by surprise.

"I see. So that's how it was," the blonde man mused, as he began to stroke his chin, similar to how a wise man would stroke their beard. "I suppose that would be the most realistic way of looking at it. I was expecting a happy ending though, like the commoner comes to rescue her and they live happily ever after,"

"Not all stories have happy endings,"

"You're right, of course. This isn't a fairy tale we're living in," Laxus nodded curtly. "There's no guarantee of a happy ending is there, princess?" he said, resting his elbow on the counter, a grin still sketched onto his face. Before he could say anything more, however, the door slammed open. The grin faded from Laxus' face as he turned around to see who was there. Mirajane's attention was piqued as well. Nobody ever came here in the afternoon.

Three people stood at the door, two men and a woman. Laxus looked at them with expressionless eyes. Mirajane couldn't tell what he was thinking. The three people at the door, however, seemed to be on the verge of tears. Without warning, all three of them ran towards Laxus, surrounding him.

"Laxus, so the rumours were true! You really did come back!" an average sized green haired man shouted, as he draped both of his arms around Laxus. The other two joined in the group hug as well, but Laxus didn't look so pleased. He tried to pry them off him.

"Freed, Bickslow... Evergreen too..." Laxus said, putting emphasis on each name that he called out. "To think that news of my return would reach you guys so soon," he muttered, almost regretfully. Deep down, though, he was somewhat happy to see his old friends again. Things had been... quiet without them. Laxus turned his head towards Mirajane's direction, and held out three fingers.

"Three drinks for my friends, Mira-chan. I'll float the bill," Laxus instructed, showing that he hadn't forgot the 'pet name' that Makarov called her. As he ordered, he gestured towards his three friends. While he called her 'Mira-chan' in jest, it seemed like the green haired man took it seriously, while the other two simply shrugged it off. The man known as Freed shifted his attention from Laxus to Mirajane.

"And who are you?" Freed said, pointing an excusing finger at the young barmaid. "She just works here right, Laxus?" the man asked, looking towards the blonde man for confirmation, to which Laxus nodded in reply. Freed turned his head back towards Mirajane. "So why are you two talking with such familiarity?!" he said, gritting his teeth.

Bickslow began to stroke his chin, clearly imitating Laxus. It seemed like he was trying to copy Laxus, or perhaps it was the other way around, and Laxus had gotten that habit from Bickslow? Mirajane didn't know, but she didn't really care either. "Freed's got a good point. You two lovers or something?" he asked. Freed almost fainted after hearing that, while Bickslow and Evergreen remained relatively unaffected.

"Do you guys not have a sense of humour?" Laxus asked dryly. "I was just kidding..." he told them, although the tone in his voice didn't suggest that he was being lighthearted at all.

"Yes, he was just kidding!" Freed said, clearly overreacting to Laxus' words. He shrugged Mirajane off, as if she had suddenly become irrelevant after Laxus admitted that he had only called her Mira-chan as a joke. "There is no woman in the world who is good enough for Laxus, after all!" he added, clenching his fist as he did so. Bickslow patted the guy on the back, as if to ask him to calm down.

Mirajane tapped Laxus on the back. "Hm?" he replied, as he leaned in closer to hear what Mirajane had to say. The white haired girl moved her lips closer to Laxus' ears. "Since you live on the second floor, does that mean these three will be coming over often?" she asked.

Laxus nodded, his face was still expressionless. "More or less. Why? Can't handle them?" Laxus asked, loud enough for the three people to hear. Bickslow, Freed and Evergreen didn't hear what Laxus said though. Freed was still letting out sighs of relief after finding out that Mirajane and Laxus weren't a couple, Bickslow just seemed to be staring blankly in the distance while Evergreen was staring at herself in a compact mirror.

Mira shook her head, and let out a sigh, before a smile appeared on her lips. "Right then!" she began. "Three drinks coming up!"

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**A/N: **_Hi guys! An author's note was missing from the first chapter, because... well I didn't really have anything to say. But now I do! I want to thank the my reviewers, xNightDreamerx, SheRa-ver, ShiroKuroKnight, DDRV, D-Maestro. And thank you to all the guests as well. I hope you guys enjoyed this ... filler 1.5 chapter! It was just something I thought up of and was originally suppose to be a one-shot. Consider it a preview. More to come! Also, if you guys have any preferences as to how you want the story to pan out, leave a review! I'm open to suggestions!  
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	3. Chapter 2 - Demon's Domain

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

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**Chapter 2: Demon's Domain**

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The bell resounded around the school to signal the beginning of classes for that day. Like the good student that she was, Mirajane headed towards her seat in classroom 3-C. She put her hand on the doorknob, turned it before entering the room. It looked like today was going to be a full house, as every single desk seemed to be occupied, besides her own, of course. She walked towards her seat. The second she sat down, the door slid open again and Class 3-C's homeroom teacher, Gildarts Clive entered the room, a bored expression on his face.

"Is everybody here?" Gildarts asked lazily, as a chorus of 'yes sir' could be heard. He had never really been the one to take attendance, and as a result, it was very easy to play traunt from class and not get caught. Even so, Gildarts' had some keen senses. He scanned the room and pointed towards a single empty desk near the back. Mirajane hadn't seen it, which was odd considering it was the seat right behind hers.

"Natsu," Gildarts simply stated. "Natsu's not here," he continued, as he marked the young man absent on the roll call booklet. "Shame too, that kid's almost always in school," Gildarts commented. Mirajane could vouch for that. Natsu was certainly a person who regularly attended class and his face was a welcomed sight for her in the morning. After ticking Natsu off as absent, Gildarts turned his attention back to the rest of the class.

"Students. Today, I've got some news. There's going to be a new pupil joining our class," he informed them. "I know it's late in the year, and you've all formed your own social groups and whatnot, but try and befriend this guy, alright?" Gildarts added, as he walked over to the door. He opened it and poked his head outside. "Hey, come in now," he muttered, as he grabbed someone by the arm and led them into the room.

Mirajane couldn't believe her eyes.

Standing at the very front of the class with her homeroom teacher was none other than Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of her boss. There was no way that he could be the new student. He had read one of her textbooks and treated it like it was child's play, that and he was huge, his face was brazen, and he looked much more like an adult than a teenager. Then again, the same could apply to her.

"My name is Laxus Dreyar," he introduced himself, without much emotion at all. He didn't really seem to be looking around the class, but he wasn't really staring at the ground either. Rather, he looked quite indifferent, as if he didn't really care about being there. It was obvious that he hadn't seen Mirajane. "I'm 19 years old. I was attending Hargeon University, but I was ... er, expelled," he said, almost fumbling his words, which was pretty uncharacteristic of him. "I'm taking the entrance exams for Magnolia University, so I decided to repeat my final year," he finished.

Gildarts patted Laxus on the back. Much to Mirajane's surprise, Laxus and Gildarts were both the same height, which only served to make him more intimidating. Gildarts scanned the room, stroking his beard as he did so. "There doesn't seem to any room. Well, that's fine. I'll get a chair for you tomorrow. For now, sit in the seat behind Mirajane's. The person who normally sits there is absent today," Gildarts told him, as he pointed towards the empty seat behind Mirajane's.

Laxus' brow raised curiously, as he heard her name. He looked towards the direction where Gildarts had been pointing and it his suspicions were confirmed. Mira could see a slight smile appear on Laxus' face as he headed towards the empty seat. He didn't even look towards Mira's way as he sat down in Natsu's seat. She looked back at him and stared, wondering if he would even bother acknowledging her. They were friends after all, right?

"Hi, I'm Laxus," he greeted sarcastically. To the outsider, this would have looked like a friendly introduction, but Mirajane took it as an insult, and she was right to as well. Huffing, the white haired woman turned around. Laxus feigned ignorance, as he rested his head on his elbows, looking warily up at the board.

Gildarts clapped both of his hands together. "Alright, let's start," he said, grabbing a stick of chalk. He began to write on the board, but the next thing he knew, banging could be heard throughout the room. Everyone looked towards the source of the noise, Laxus included. He could see an average sized pink haired boy standing on the ledge outside the window, tapping frantically on the glass.

"Aren't we on the second floor?" Laxus muttered, not to anyone in particular. There was no emotion in his voice, as if this was a regular occurance for him. The students stared in shock for a couple of seconds, while Gildarts looked on, wide eyed. Only one girl reacted. A blonde one, Laxus noted. She walked half the room to the window, opening it, allowing the boy outside to fall into the classroom.

"Thanks Luce, you saved me!" the pink haired boy said, gratefully as he draped both of his arms around the girl, causing her face to turn as pink as the boy's hair. She pushed him off of her, much to the pink haired boy's confusion. But he didn't let it get to him, as he turned around, his eyes meeting with Laxus' eyes. The grateful look on his face faded as he squared up to the blonde man.

"Oi, you, you're in my seat," he growled, as he put one leg up on the desk. Laxus didn't take this standing down, of course, as he stood up and grabbed the boy by the collar.

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?" Laxus said, gritting his teeth. Mirajane looked on at the two of them, the pink haired boy's foot was on the desk, as if to exert his dominance over it, while Laxus' hand was on his collar, pulling it up, probably making it hard for the boy to breathe.

"Natsu, stop it!" a voice called out. At first, Mirajane thought it was Gildarts calling out for his student to stop acting so rude to a new pupil, but she soon realized that the voice that called out was far too feminine to be Gildarts. Laxus and the boy known as Natsu were both surprised as they turned to see who had called out. Before Natsu could fully turn around though, someone had already smacked him in the head with a book. Laxus let go of the boy's collar as Natsu fell to the ground. Laxus faced towards Natsu's attacker. It was the blonde girl that opened the window.

"Lucy, what was that for?!" Natsu winced, rubbing his head. It was clear that he was trying to sound as tough as possible. Laxus looked down at Natsu, who was still sitting on the ground. Now that he thought about it, this guy looked pretty familiar. What did the girl call him again? But before Laxus could collect his thoughts, someone was already touching him, as if to check his condition. Lucy, he recalled.

"Are you okay, did he hurt you?" Lucy asked. "I'm sorry about Natsu, he does this a lot, but... he's a nice guy, really. He can just be an idiot sometimes," Lucy told him, as Laxus looked back towards Natsu, who had already picked himself up from the ground.

"Natsu..." Laxus repeated, the name rolled off the tongue. Now that he thought about it, he knew a guy called Natsu, a long time ago. "Pink hair, ugly scarf... why didn't I notice it was you earlier, Dragneel?" Laxus scoffed, looking away. "You've grown... a little,"

"Natsu, you know Laxus?" Mirajane asked curiously. Natsu's ears perked up, like a dog that had just heard something exciting. He squared up to Laxus once more, but he didn't do anything that would have offended the bigger man. He simply stood there, examining Laxus from head to toe.

"No way..." Natsu uttered, his mouth wide open in surprise. "Laxus, is that you?" Natsu said, his voice was soft, and his knees looked like they were trembling with excitement, a wide grin etched onto his face. Natsu was the kind of guy that always had a smile on his face.

"If you had gotten to class on time, you'd know that it is me," Laxus simply stated, not looking having as excited to see Natsu as Natsu was to see him. Laxus sighed, as he looked towards Gildarts'. It was obvious that he didn't really like the attention. After all, the entire room had their eyes on him, Natsu and Lucy.

"Sir, what are we going to do about this?" Laxus said, gesturing towards him and Natsu. The seat was quite small, so there was no way that the both of them was going to fit. Gildarts looked like he was deep in thought, contemplating what the best course of action was.

"First off, Lucy, go back to your seat," he said. Lucy blushed slightly, as she tiptoed back to her desk which was at the other end of the classroom. He then looked at Laxus then at Natsu. "Alright, guess I'll have to ask Macao for a desk. His class is tiny anyway," Gildarts sighed, as he exited the classroom. He looked back at the two boys, the only two people left standing. "Natsu, sit down. Laxus, don't move,"

As promised, Gildarts returned a couple of seconds later with a brand new desk, positioning it fairly close to the top, much to Laxus' dismay. "Tch," he muttered, as he headed towards his new desk, which was practically right in front of Gildarts, the teacher. He probably wouldn't have a hard time concentrating now that he was so close to the board, but he sort of wanted to sit near Mira. Laxus' face turned cherry red for a split second as he turned around to look at her. She was diligently working away on something, much too preoccupied to notice that he was staring at her.

"Hey, you," someone whispered as they tapped Laxus on the back. The blonde man turned around to see a young man staring back at him. He had short black hair, and seemed to be wearing his uniform a lot differently from everyone else. For one, he wasn't wearing the school shirt... or any shirt for that matter.

"The hell, why are you naked?" Laxus asked, as he scanned the man from head to toe, wondering if he was only shirtless or whether he was full body nude. Fortunately, the man had some pants on. Laxus let out a silent sigh of relief, but the man didn't seem to hear him. It was just Laxus' luck to have to sit in front of a stripper.

"I see you're checking out Strauss, eh?" the man said, nudging Laxus slightly. He spoke in an incredibly hushed tone, as to not arouse the suspicion of Gildarts. Laxus raised an eyebrow. Strauss? Ah, he remembered now. Strauss was Mirajane's surname. She had introduced herself as Mirajane Strauss when the two of them had first met... about two chapters ago.

"And so what if I am?" Laxus replied, in a soft tone also. The last thing he wanted as to get in trouble on the first day of school. The half naked man frowned, and turned to look at Mirajane, before letting out a sigh.

"By the way, when were you going to say hi to your old buddy?" the half naked man asked, completely ignoring what Laxus had said earlier. He nudged the blonde man slightly.

"Do I know you?" Laxus asked, curiously.

"Gray. Gray Fullbuster," Gray replied, as he leaned in slightly

That name rang bells. Ah, now he remembered. Gray was always hanging around Natsu in the bar. That's where he knew the pink haired man as well. They were both regulars at Makarov's bar despite both of them being kids. Laxus didn't really mind though. He preferred talking to them rather than having to talk to some drunk adults.

"You've grown," Laxus murmured. Gray smirked and crashed down into his seat, albeit making little noise as he did so. He took out a lollypop and stuck it into his mouth, before taking it out again.

"So Strauss, eh? Is that the kind of girl you like?" Gray asked, putting the lollypop back in his mouth. He turned around quickly to look at Mirajane. "Pretty face, actually. Great body too. But she's a total teacher's pet," he sighed, observing the fact that she was writing something onto her notebook. He looked back at Laxus with an assuming smirk. "So, do you like her?"

But before Laxus could reply, a booming voice could be heard. "I'm not deaf, you know!" Gildarts roared, as he slammed his fist into Laxus' table, probably doing more damage to his hand than to the table, but if he was in pain, he hid it well. "Dreyar, talk about your crush on Mirajane another time. Fullbuster, get that lollypop out of your mouth and put on a shirt," he commanded.

Laxus and Gray remained quiet for the rest of the class.

The final bell rang to signal the ending of the school day. Laxus got up off the seat immediately and headed out the door, not bothering to wait for anyone else. Chances were, Mirajane probably had a shift at the bar later on tonight, so he would definitely see her. Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow would probably be there too. Now that Natsu and Gray knew he was back in town, they were both sure to make an appearance also.

Laxus let out a weak sigh as he approached the school gates. It had been a somewhat turbulent day at school. After Gildarts embarrassed him in front of the class by talking about his 'crush' on 'Strauss', Laxus wasn't able to bring himself to look back at Mirajane. He wasn't sure whether she was embarrassed as well, or whether she had just shrugged it off. The way she was working, she might not have even noticed.

Laxus could see a figure waiting by the school gate. The closer he got to the school gate, the more visible the figure became. It was a woman, for sure, and she was definitely waiting for somebody. At first, Laxus thought it was a girl waiting for her friends. However, before he had even reached the gate, he had a good idea as to who it was. It was obvious, really.

"You waiting for somebody?" Laxus questioned as he approached the white haired girl who was waiting by the gate. She was staring straight at the ground, and hadn't seen him approach her. She seemed surprised as she looked up to see Laxus talking to her. She shook her head.

"You going straight to the bar?" Laxus inquired curiously, rubbing the back of his head. He wondered whether she heard what Gildarts said earlier, but put it to the back of his mind. Even if she did, it seemed like she didn't want to talk about it.

"Yeah," she replied. The two of them exchanged quick glances. Without words, they both began walking, their destination being the Fairy Tail bar. Their entire journey was marred with silence, but for some reason, the two of them wouldn't have had it any other way. Silence was peace. Silence was best.

* * *

**A/N:** _This is the longest chapter! I hope I haven't bored any of you, but I feel like I should introduce some of the other characters. As always, thanks for reading and leave a review if you have suggestions. Also, Awesome D.T, unfortunately, the book that Mira was reading isn't real. I just made it up, haha. Maybe the next book she'll pick up will be a real work though! _


	4. Chapter 3 - Truth

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

**Chapter 3: Truth **

* * *

The sun overlooked the Fairy Tail bar, the light penetrating the small cracks in the building's old exterior. Nobody noticed the small cracks in the building though, as all the patrons in the bar were too busy talking with each other, clinking their glasses together. The owner of the establishment, Makarov was nowhere to be found, his grandson, Laxus, was just chilling out by the counter while Mirajane was cleaning some dishes.

"I'm bored," Laxus grumbled, as he put his empty glass on the counter. It was a fine day outside, a Saturday afternoon, but there was absolutely nothing for him to do. He never thought he'd say it, but he was actually hoping that Freed or even Natsu would come busting down the door to entertain him.

"Don't worry, it's still early. I'm sure they'll come soon enough, given time. Natsu and the others, I mean," Mirajane smiled, as he took Laxus' glass for cleaning. It was as though she was able to read Laxus' mind. The blonde man didn't seem amuse though as he let out an irritated grunt.

"Who cares if they come or not? Things are more peaceful without that pink haired guy around anyway," Laxus said, half heartedly. He wasn't really lying, things really peaceful without Natsu making a ruckus, but then again, Laxus always thought peace was overrated.

Before Mirajane could respond, someone had bolted through the door, catching her and Laxus' attention. They both turned around to see Natsu frantically looking around. Gray was standing beside him, a bored expression on his face. Lucy was there too, trying to calm down the pink haired boy.

"Oi, Laxus, are you here? Let's fight. For all time's sake," Natsu huffed, finally managing to spot Laxus by the bar. "There you are!" Natsu let out a roar as he charged at Laxus. A wide grin appeared on Laxus' face for a split second, as he flipped Natsu, causing him to crash over the counter. Mirajane looked down at the downed Natsu.

"Are you okay, Natsu?" she asked, extending out her hand to help him up.

Natsu began to rub his head, as he looked up at Mira. "Still no good, huh? You're still damn strong, Laxus," he commented, as he took Mira's hand and allowed her to elevate him back up. He stared down at Laxus, who was checking something on his phone. He was wearing headphones. "Hey, hey, are you even listening to me?" Natsu muttered, as he pulled Laxus' headphones off.

Laxus looked at Natsu, a scowl on his face. "Give me back the headphones, Dragneel," he told him, in a low, threatening voice. Natsu, on the other hand, couldn't help but grin, as he leapt up onto the counter and ran towards the other side of the bar.

"Sure, but only if you can catch me!"

After a couple of minutes of chasing Natsu around, much to the amusement of the bar patrons, Laxus finally managed to catch the spunky, red haired student. He grabbed the headphones from Natsu, before positoning them around his own neck. "What's the big idea, making me exert my energy like that?" Laxus muttered, as he took his seat.

"Jeez, Laxus," Natsu began as he sat down beside him. "You're not as fun as you used to be. You know that? The old Laxus would have pounded me a little bit. Did you get soft during your time in Hargeon?" he murmured, stroking his chin with genuine concern.

"I decided to stop hanging around with punks like you!" Laxus snapped, as he thumped the back of Natsu's head, reacting rather comically. Mirajane thought it was strange, seeing Laxus, who was normally so cold, act like this.

"That's the Laxus I know..." Natsu groaned, as he formed a thumbs up with his right hand, while touching the back of his head with his left hand. "That's gonna bruise later," he mumbled.

Mirajane couldn't help but giggle, causing Laxus to turn his attention towards her. "Something funny, Mira?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. There was an irritated expression plastered over the big man's face.

"Nothing like that. I just always thought you were a cold person. But it looks like you can be warm... sometimes. Especially when you're with your friends," she answered, in a hushed tone. The angelic softness of Mirajane's voice didn't seem to calm Laxus down at all. If anything, he looked even angrier.

"Friends? I don't consider this pest a friend," he replied loudly defiantly, pointing towards Natsu, who didn't seem to take any offense. He then let out a quick, but troubled sigh. "Well, not that it matters. Can you get me a drink?" he asked, the volume of his voice had decreased.

"Oi, Laxus, wanna fig-..?" Natsu piped up randomly, springing up, but before he could finish his sentence, Lucy had silenced him with a single fist to the head. Gray simply nodded approvingly, patting Natsu on the pack as if to commend his efforts. He turned to look towards Mirajane.

"I gotta apologize about flame brains over here. He doesn't have a normal bone in his body. We've been classmates for quite some time, but we've never had a proper conversation. My name's Gray," Gray said, feeling compelled to introduce himself. It was needless, of course, as Mirajane already knew his name.

"But Mira, you're so bold! I had no idea you had a boyfriend, let alone a guy like this..." Lucy suddenly said but she trailed off when she realized that Laxus reacted strongly to her 'guy like this' comment.

"B-boyfriend? N..no.. you've misunderstood. Laxus and I aren't like that," Mirajane corrected her, her face turning bright red. She turned towards Laxus, hoping that he'll back her up, but he simply sat there. His face was also slightly red.

"That's a lie!" Natsu roared, as he sprang up onto the bar counter. For a second there, it looked like Natsu had fire coming out of his mouth. He pointed accusingly towards Laxus and Mirajane. "I saw you two walking home together. If you guys aren't lovers, why else would you meet up after school like that?!" he chided.

Gray's face suddenly lit up as he held up his hand for a hand five with Laxus. "My man!" he said energetically, expecting Laxus to return the gesture. However, instead, Laxus simply grabbed Gray's hand and forced it back down.

"It's because we had a common destination. Just because you saw us walking together doesn't prove anything. Don't jump to conclusions like that!" Laxus scolded, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

"Actually," Lucy started. "The thing I'm surprised about most is that you're working in a bar, Mira. Isn't your father the chief polic commissioner in Magnolia? And here you are, working at a place like this," she wondered.

Mirajane looked away, avoiding eye contact with Lucy. "Well, that's... you see..." she mumbled, not really sure how to reply. She took a second to collect her thoughts, before opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Only stutters.

"If your dad is a bigshot like that, then you wouldn't need to work here to go to collge, would you?" Laxus inquired, surprised. However, the big man wasn't half as surprised as Mirajane was.

"How did you know that I was only working here for that reason?!" she questioned.

"Isn't it obvious?" came the reply.

Mirajane sighed. "It's complicated. Well, you see, yes, it's true, my father could pay for my college education. Thing is, he doesn't really want me to go..." she began. "He wants me to stay at home and take care of my younger siblings. I do that already, but if I go to college, I won't be able to. And both my parents are too busy so..." she suddenly stopped. There was no need for her to say anymore.

"Hey, hey. I've seen your brother. He's not the kind of guy that needs taking care of. Elfman, right?" Gray commented. A faint smile appeared on Mirajane's face.

"That's totally unfair! You're good at studying. You're talented, so you should be allowed to use them. It's just not right for him to deny you that opportunity," Lucy threw in her own opinion.

"Not that it matters, right? None of us here will tell Mirajane's pop, so it's fine, right?" Natsu said, looking towards Lucy and Gray, who nodded. Natsu turned to Laxus, who had distanced himself slightly from the group. "You too, Laxus? You won't tell anyone, will you?"

The blonde man looked at Mira, who was looking at him with pleading eyes. Both of their eyes met, and Laxus couldn't help but turn a little bit red. He hadn't realized it before, but looking straight into her eyes was like drowning in a sea of crystal blue. Cliched, true, but there was no other way to describe the sensation.

He looked away. "Tch. It's got nothing to do me,"

* * *

**A/N: **_You guys waited a long time for this, but unfortunately, this is one of the shorter chapters. Even so, I hope you'll enjoy it. As always, feel free to review! It's Exam Week, so once I'm done with those, I'll be back in full force! _


	5. Chapter 4 - Prelude to Serenity

**A/N: **_Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima._

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**Chapter 4: Prelude to Serenity  
**

* * *

"Don't go in the basement, don't go in the basement!"

For the past two or so hours, those were the only two lines that Laxus heard, or rather, they were the only lines that anyone would say. How did the blonde haired bad boy get himself into such a dire situation? He had been chilling in the Fairy Tail bar when Lucy, Natsu and Gray, or the "Three Stooges" as Laxus had begun calling them burst into the bar and began spouting some nonsense about going to the movies, and a couple of big name stars that Laxus had never heard of. Of course, Mirajane was more than thrilled to join them and somehow, Laxus ended up getting dragged for the ride too.

The fair haired Mirajane was somewhat reluctant to enter the theater when she realized that it was a horror movie, but did so nonetheless, and it became immediately obvious why. Mirajane was terrified of this kind of stuff. She would grab onto Laxus's shoulder every couple of seconds, although he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. Lucy was similar to Mira, but instead, she was grabbing onto Natsu's shoulder, but only during the jump scares. Natsu didn't seem to mind, as he was fast asleep, having been so before the film even began rolling.

Gray, on the other hand, went to the bathroom around twenty minutes into the movie and hadn't returned since. Laxus couldn't help but feel like he was the only one who was enjoying the movie, despite the fact that he was the only one who didn't want to go. He turned to his left and saw Mira, her face was buried into his arm. Laxus turned his attention to the big screen again. All he saw was words, rolling down the screen.

"Mira, the movie's over. Or are you afraid of credits now?" he chided. As he did so, Mira let go of Laxus' arm. He rubbed it, noting that she was clutching him incredibly tight. Her fear must have been genuine.

"It was a good film," Mira replied, ignoring Laxus' comment. "I like the bit where he... where he..." she was stuttering now.

Laxus thumped her in the forehead, much too gentle for it to actually hurt. "Who do you think you're fooling? You must have spent more time with your face buried in my arm than your eyes on the screen," he muttered. "Anyway, let's get out of here," he added quickly, gesturing towards the exit as he did so. Mira turned towards Lucy, and the two of them exchanged knowing glances.

"Natsu, wake up," Lucy murmured, nudging the pink haired boy gently. Too gently, Laxus thought, as he gave the young man a smack on the face, causing him to wake up immediately. The fiery haired man growled as he looked up to see Laxus glaring down at him.

"We're leaving," he muttered.

* * *

"And where have you been, Gray?" Laxus asked a couple of minutes later when he noticed that the sleek, black haired boy had rejoined them as they were walking back to the Fairy Tail bar.

Gray, who just happened to be shirtless, simply shrugged. "I think I walked back into the wrong room. We were in theater three, right? I was a bit surprised that the movie we thought was a horror film turned out to be a chick flick. Do you think, maybe, we could get our money back?" Gray mused, stroking his well shaven chin, longingly.

"We were in Theater One..." Laxus began, but he let out a short sigh and decided to just drop the case.

The walk back to the Fairy Tail bar was not a particularly long one, yet to Laxus, it felt like an eternity. Every time Natsu saw a stray animal on the opposite sidewalk, be it a cat or a dog, he would immediately run over to try and catch it. Lucy did a good job of clipping him by the ear, but on one occasion, Natsu really did manage to get to the other side, miraculously managing to avoid the cars. Naturally, Laxus and the others had to go get him, making what should have been a five minute trip into a thirty minute one.

"What's your problem, Natsu?" Gray murmured, as the pushed the human salamander into the threshold of the bar. Natsu muttered some profanity under his breath that Gray probably heard, but decided to ignore. He looked at his watch.

"Man," Gray began, looking at his friends. "Looks like I'm late for tuition. Silver's gonna kill me. Over here, Natsu, I'll drive you back home," he offered. Despite having good intentions when making the offer, it only served to make Natsu more angry.

"You think you're great because you drive or something, Ice brains?!" Natsu growled. "I still think it's a joke that you passed the exam and I didn't... so don't remind me!"

"Natsu, you almost ran over an old lady the first time you did the exam, and the second time you drove right through the roundabout," Lucy said, trying to calm him down.

"Irrelevant!" Natsu replied, although there was no heart in his argument. He knew when he had been defeated. "I'll wait for you outside..." he added, despondent. Lucy and Mirajane felt sorry for him. Laxus and Gray just shrugged it off.

"Mind if I catch a lift too, Gray?" Lucy suddenly asked. Gray nodded in reply.

Natsu, who hadn't let the building let suddenly lit up. "Shotgun! I call shotgun!" he started shouting as he burst out the door. Lucy chased after him muttering something about it "not being fair" or something along those lines.

"I guess I'll see you guys later," Gray said, waving. Mirajane waved back cheerily while Laxus simply raised one hand in acknowledgement. Gray wasn't satisfied. "Yo, why do you always look so glum anyways, Laxus?"

The big blonde man looked away, turning slightly red, slightly irritated. "Why do you and your father have colors for names?" he shot back.

Gray let out a slight chuckle. "It's Fullbuster family tradition, of course!" he replied as he exited, leaving Laxus and Mirajane alone with a handful of patrons. It was still quite early, around afternoon, so the bar wasn't going to be bustling with activity for another while. Laxus walked over to his preferred stool and sat down, while Mirajane took her place behind the counter despite the fact that her shift didn't start for another hour or so.

"Thirsty?" she asked.

"No, not particularly," he answered back. She placed a glass of water on the counter in front of him anyway. "Thanks," he murmured, albeit reluctantly, as he took the glass in his hand and gulped it down in one swift go. "Refreshing," he said, as he put the glass back on the table. He looked at her, hesitation apparent in his eyes. He let out a short sigh, and decided to just come clean.

"I got a question to ask you,"

"What is it?"

Laxus shuffled around slightly, changing his body position. "How are things with your father? Convince him to let you go to university yet?"

The ivory haired girl simply shook her head. "Not yet. I don't know how he would take it if I told him. I haven't even told him about the part time job yet,"

"You were planning on telling him you're working in a bar, despite your age?" he questioned, puzzled.

"Oh Laxus. I'm saving up to go to university, not saving up for a phone. So of course, I work a second part time job," she answered. Her eyes darted around the room, until they found the clock that was Makarov had placed on the wall. "In fact, I'm almost late for the second job now," she added, as she swiftly leaped over the counter. She began to head towards the door.

"You work two part time jobs and still get manage to keep up with your studies?" Laxus asked, without turning his head back. He wasn't even sure if she had left already, however, he knew that she was still there when his question was answered with a reassuring "Yes,"

"You can be amazing sometimes, you know,"

He heard her giggle softly. "Not really," Mira said, a certain sense of melancholy in her voice. She went to take her leave, her heels clicking softly against the ground as she left.

"Not really," Laxus repeated. "Liar,"

* * *

**A/N:** _It's been a long time since I've updated, I know. Hopefully, none of you thought that I decided to give up on the story halfway, although I couldn't blame you if you did. I was abroad for the past two months, and I'm finally going home tonight. I decided to upload this short chapter, as a remainder that I'm still around and that you can expect more in the near future! Thanks for reading as always!_


	6. Chapter 5 - Go Lucky

**A/N: **_Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima._

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**Chapter 5 - Go Lucky  
**

* * *

"Laxus!" a voice shouted, piercing through the rowdy atmosphere of the Fairy Tail bar. It was a voice that everyone in the bar recognized, the aged pattern of none other than Makarov Dreyar. When he talked, people listened. After this outburst, the eyes of the patrons immediately turned towards the counter where Makarov's grandson, Laxus was sitting, having just gone through his second glass of whatever he was drinking. Irritated, he turned his attention towards the top of the staircase where his grandfather was standing.

"What is it, old man?" Laxus muttered. "Can't you see I'm busy here?" he asked, as he ordered another drink. The skilled bartender behind the counter, Mirajane, immediately complied, quickly setting a glass before the blonde man. He grabbed it and chugged it down instantly. By the time he put the glass back on the counter, Makarov had occupied the seat beside his.

"This," Makarov answered, placing a sheet of paper on the counter. "I've signed you up for it. It's a 5 day camp for children between the ages of 11 and 13," he explained, with an approving nod. "I think it'll help you develop as a person. It's the camp motto,"

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Sounds good. If I was 7 years younger, I'd be really grateful," he snapped sarcastically, expecting at the very least a smile from his grandfather. However, Makarov was not even close to being amused.

"Fool!" the old man scolded. "I never said anything about going to the camp to have fun. You're attending the camp as a counselor. In other words, you're going to be taking care of the kids. If you're put into a position of responsibility, then you might mature a bit,"

"Eh? Why should I babysit some kids for 5 days? I have better things to do with my vacation. I want to relax," he snarled back, but Makarov wasn't going to have it, as the small man jumped onto the counter, pointing an accusing finger at his rebellious grandson.

"There will be no argument. The camp starts tomorrow. You start today. You have to get the stuff ready for the kiddies, you see," Makarov informed him. "It will be fun. If you do your job with an open mind, you will be definitely end up having a good time. But if you go grouchy and don't even attempt to connect with your young charges, nobody will benefit. Do you understand?"

Laxus' nod was not only reluctant but also non existent. Mirajane had to give him a helping hand by putting her hand on the top of his head and putting some pressure on him, forcing him into a nodding position. She removed her hand afterwards, as Laxus rubbed the nape of his neck. "You have some freaky strength for a woman," he commented, although he said it in a tone that suggested it was more of a compliment than an insult.

"And you wear too much hair gel," she replied in a refreshingly pleasant tone, rubbing her right hand with a cloth. Laxus let out a light chuckle, although he quickly stopped when he noticed that Makarov was fuming. The Fairy Tail bar owner was a lenient man, but once he was angry, he didn't let up no matter what. Laxus had only truly angered him once when he was a child, and had no intention of doing so again.

"Alright, fine. I'll do it," he murmured, looking away to avoid eye contact with his grandfather. However, while he succeeded in avoiding Makarov's gaze, he also found himself straight at Mirajane. His first instinct was to look away in embarrassment, but he found himself starstruck. He couldn't move his eyes, or any part of his body.

Mirajane, who clearly noticed that Laxus was staring at her, merely smiled, despite the fact that she didn't know whether he was staring at her eyes or her bust. "Don't worry, Laxus," she reassured him, unbuttoning her apron, letting it fall to the ground to reveal a shirt with 'SENIOR COUNSELOR' written in yellow across the front. "I'm a counselor too," she told him.

Laxus moved a little bit closer, blinked twice and read the words written on her shirt out loud. "Senior counselor?"

She nodded. "Yup. I was a counselor last year and the year before that," she told him. "I got promoted," she added, happily. Laxus rubbed his chin, accepted the fact that he would have to be her subordinate as a junior counselor before turning his attention towards his grandfather.

"So, I guess it was Mira who gave you this bright idea, old man?" he asked, cynicism apparent in his voice. Makarov responded by innocently whistling, making a face that was the exact opposite of the face he wore just a few seconds prior.

"The girl cares about you more than I do, brat," he said. "And I'm your grandfather. So, of course I love you. That just says a lot about..." he was about to continue his sentence, but he noticed the blushing faces of both his grandson and a girl who he considered to be his granddaughter.

"Master..." Mirajane said, meekly, the redness in her face didn't fade as she turned away.

"Nosy old man..." was all that Laxus could say. Despite his overly threatening words, he also found himself staring at the ground and clenching his teeth, in an attempt to hide the overbearing grin on his face. "Always getting himself involved in my business..."

Makarov let out a hearty laugh, as he patted both Laxus and Mirajane on the shoulder. "Oh, never mind what I say! They are merely the ramblings of an old man!" he said, still chuckling away. "But it only goes to show, love blossoms in the strangest places..." he teased.

"Damn it, old man!" Laxus roared, but this time Mirajane stayed silent. Taking delight in his grandson's clear embarrassment, Makarov jumped off from the counter and walked away, leaving the two of them alone. "Don't mind him," Laxus murmured, rubbing the nape of his neck and shying away, unsure of what to say next. He was generally good at breaking awkward silences, but this time was different.

"Master says weird things sometimes, doesn't he?" Mirajane began softly. Laxus could barely hear her.

"Forget him," he told her. "The man is just an old pervert. He even makes you call him Master. Isn't that sort of overboard?" he quipped, but this suddenly cause Mirajane to turn even more red. She began to stammer.

"No, he doesn't make me do that!" she denied. "It's just... well, it's nothing really. Everyone who works here, and even the patrons call him Master. I was sort of worried about working here at first, so I thought if I just did what everyone else did, I would manage to fit in. I guess it just became habit,"

"Is that right? In that case, do you want to know why everyone calls him Master?" Laxus smirked. Mirajane's ivory eyes lit up with curiosity, as she edged in closer to Laxus. The blonde haired man did the same, and the two of them soon found their faces mere inches away from one another. If either one of them took a breath, then the other would be able to feel it, for sure. Laxus edged in even closer, but Mirajane stayed put, although she was tempted to move back.

"Because he isn't as nice to others as he is to you, princess. I don't know where Master came from, but in his youth, he was called the Titan. And they didn't call him Titan because of his intimidating height," Laxus joked, as he moved his face away. "They called him that because of his massive temper. Those who cross him, well, someone like you doesn't have the stomach for it. Just ask my father," he trailed off, a sense of melancholy in his voice.

"Laxus...?" Mira began, but the yellow haired man opposite her quickly cheered up.

"It's nothing. Thanks for serving me today, Mira. I knew it wasn't your shift," he said, giving an unassuming but curt nod. He stood up from the stool and turned to walk away. He needed some fresh air. Suddenly, and without warning, he turned his head. "Oh, and Mira?" he started.

"Hm?" Mira replied, looking toward Laxus. He was already halfway towards the door.

"Can you tell me where I can get one of those cool shirts?"

* * *

**A/N: **_Man, you know what? I owe everyone who has ever read and enjoyed my story so far a big apology. It's not that I forgot about you this story or anything, but life really is hectic! But I started this story, and I am definitely going to finish it to the best of my ability. This chapter is short, but it will be the first of many more interactions between our beloved Laxus and Mirajane. Expect regular updates!_


	7. Chapter 6 - Wendy and Romeo

**A/N: **_Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima._

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Wendy and Romeo  
**

* * *

"Yo, Gray. Hand me that spray,"

With his left hand on his shirt buttons and his right hand outstretched, Gray dipped into his bag, pulled out a can of insect repellant before chucking it over to Laxus, who caught it with ease. The blonde haired man shook the can twice before proceeding to spray it around himself. After he was done, he passed the can over to Natsu, who also began to spray himself. Indiscreetly, Natsu put the can into his pants and began to spray there too. Laxus took a couple of steps back from the fiery haired man, whereas Gray squared up to him, and pulled his hand out.

"Damn it, hothead! Watch where you put my stuff!" he growled.

"I don't want to get bit by mosquitoes!" Natsu retorted, as he and Gray literally butted heads. Laxus separated the two of them, his right hand on Gray's shoulder and his left hand on Natsu's. He directed his gaze towards Gray first, who was clearly fuming that Natsu would put his insect repellant down his pants, while Natsu placed the can on a counter.

"Gray, you're suppose to be a senior counselor. Don't go around beating up the junior counselors," Laxus scolded, although there was a certain amount of apathy in his voice. Clearly, he was thinking that from Gray's point of view, he had every right to be angry, not to mention the fact that Gray and Natsu could never ever have any sort of superior and subordinate relationship. They were much too close for something that shallow.

"And you, Natsu," Laxus continued, this time he was looking towards Natsu, who looked surprised that Laxus was also calling him out. "Don't go around putting people's things down your pants. It's unsightly," he muttered, a sense of awkwardness in his speech. Laxus had, not even for a moment, imagined that such a strange sentence would come from his mouth.

Natsu shrugged him off. "Jeez, Laxus. You're starting to sound like Luce," he murmured, as he picked up a name tag bearing the sentence "I'm Natsu Dragneel, Junior Counselor" on it, pinning it onto his shirt. "But man, junior counselor, huh? I can't below I'm below ice for brains on the totem pole," he pointed his thumb towards Gray in an irritated looking fashion.

"I used to attend this summer camp when I was younger. Now I'm a senior counselor here. That's really all there is to it. Ur always encouraged us to pursue physical activities," Gray responded, as he finished up buttoning his shirt. "Senior counselors don't have to wear the official camp shirt either. Most of the kids already know us by name already," he added, smugly glancing at Natsu. "That really isn't your color either,"

Rather than replying with words, Natsu simply growled and slunk back. He knew when he was beaten.

"Speaking of Lucy," Gray changed the subject. "What is the deal between you two? You guys going out?" he asked, curiously, leaning teasingly close to Natsu, who backed off a bit. Laxus also leaned in closer, interested as well.

"What... what are you talking about?! Luce and I aren't like that!" he spluttered. "Don't be putting weird ideas into my head! I've known her for years, and she definitely doesn't have feelings like that for me!" he insisted.

"Tch," Gray muttered under his breath, turning towards Laxus as he did so. "Looks like Natsu is still in the oblivious stage. Why did Lucy have to fall for such a dense guy? Honestly, I feel sorry for her," he whispered, so only Laxus could hear. The two of them shared a sigh, before deciding to go back towards their regular business. Before they could, though, Natsu had already butted in.

"Oi, oi, what are you two talking about? Let me in on the big secret!" Natsu demanded, as he forced his head between Laxus' and Gray's. However, Laxus only responded by pushing Natsu away, causing the boy to lose his balance and fall. Gray extended a hand to him, a gesture that Natsu took, although begrudgingly.

"It's nothing. Enough talk though, we gotta go meet the kiddies," was Gray's response.

* * *

A young boy, roughly 13 years of age stands up, and begins to look around the campfire. "My name's Romeo. Doesn't really matter what age I am. I don't particularly like anything," he greeted, before sitting back down again, as quickly as he got up. Laxus rubbed the back of his head. It was clear that something was bothering this kid. Was he being picked on? Or was he the same as Laxus, having been forced to attend the summer camp? At the very least, Laxus thought, this Romeo kid was here to have fun, not to babysit.

"Alright, whatever," he started, ticking off Romeo's name on his roll call sheet with a pen. "Next?" he said, using the pen to point towards the girl sitting next to Romeo. The girl, who allowed her long blue hair to flow down to her shoulders, stood up and cheerfully introduced herself, much to everyone's surprise. However, the glum faced Romeo simply slunk away, resting his chin on his hand and turning towards the opposite direction.

"My name's Wendy! I'm 12 years old and my hobbies are reading, cycling, and err..." she suddenly came to a halt, unsure of what to say next. "That's it, I guess..." she ended, when she realized that she had caught Romeo's glare.

Laxus ticked her name off, and pointed towards the person sitting next to Wendy. Nobody was there. He consulted his sheet again and concluded that everyone had already introduced himself. All of the counselors were divided into teams of three, each team consisting of one senior and two junior counselors. Each team would oversee a single group of children, generally consisting of ten to fifteen people. Laxus ended up on the same team as Lucy, the senior counselor and Natsu, the other junior counselor.

He gave a signal to Lucy, who responded with an uncharacteristic thumbs up. She turned towards the children. "Since everyone has introduced themselves, let's all get started on the first activity!" she said, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. "I have our plan for the day here already. Fortunately, we have 16 people in our group, 8 boys and 8 girls. The boys will go fishing while the girls will go gathering. After that, we'll have dinner and once the sun begins to go down, we'll have a test of courage!" she informed them, excitedly.

A hand shot up. "What happens if we don't catch anything?" said one of the boys.

"Guess we'll have to starve," Romeo murmured, bored. Suddenly, he lit up, and turned towards one of his friends, nudging him with his elbow lightly. "Or we could eat Lucy. There is enough meat on her to last us a while," he smirked. The two boys shared a quick laugh, before Romeo felt a tap on his back. He turned around, only to meet the face of Natsu.

He raised his hand up in the air. "Good one!" Natsu roared, throwing his head back in laughter. "Come on, hit me five, Romeo!" he added, waving his hand frantically above him. Reluctantly, Romeo slapped him a half five. Lucy, who had overheard the comment, simply walked over to them, clipped Natsu by the ear and dragged him away.

"You're a counselor, not a camper," she scolded, clearly irritated, although Laxus could tell that the joke upset her far more than Natsu's antics. He sighed, deciding to take things into his own hands. He walked over to Romeo, and crouched down until he was face to face with the young boy. He put his right hand on the kid's shoulder, feeling the shivers as he did so.

"Hey kid, I heard what you said," he opened his mouth. He could tell that Romeo was expecting another high five. "Wanna die?" he threatened.

Before Romeo could even respond, a hand appeared above Laxus' head, coming down on him before he even knew what was happening. The blonde haired man grunted as he was pulled up to his feet. He turned around, only to be greeted by two women. One he knew, the ivory haired maiden that could only be Mirajane. Although she didn't need to, Mira proudly donned the camp uniform. The other woman, on the other hand, was a junior counselor like him. He had seen her before, although he was unsure of her name. Her scarlet hair and voluptuous figure were unforgettable though.

"You shouldn't threaten the children," the scarlet haired woman told him. "It's disgusting.. Aren't you supposeto be a counselor?" she asked. Before Laxus could say anything, Mira had already opened her mouth.

"This is Erza," Mira introduced them. "And she has a good point," she added, putting on a frown, although Laxus thought it was somewhat cute. This couldn't possibly have been the "demon" Mira that Gray had told him about, could it? Impossible.

"It's none of your business, princesses. This is my group," he told them, gesturing towards the kids. "And these are my young charges. They came to this camp as kids, and they will leave as mature adults," he claimed. He patted Romeo on the head lightly. "It is just tough love. You wouldn't understand," he eyed Erza and Mirajane.

Erza raised an eyebrow, as she looked down towards Romeo. "Tough love? You call that tough love? More like just being tough," she murmured, as she noticed that Romeo had begun sniffling. "Hey, you okay?" but before Erza could even finished the sentence, Romeo had begun to softly sob. She crouched down and gently embraced him. Mira followed, grabbing a tissue and beginning to wipe away his tears.

"He... he said he would..." he continued to whimper. "Kill...kill.. he... I," he managed to say between sobs.

Erza shot Laxus a killing glare, before turning back to comfort Romeo, her eyes becoming soft as she did so. Mirajane simply looked disappointed, although she wasn't directly staring in Laxus' direction. "Let's get you something to drink," Mirajane suggested, taking Romeo's right hand into her own, she led him away. Erza took his left hand. With the two counselors on either side of him, their heads pointed forward, Romeo took the opportunity to look back at the stunned Laxus, sticking his tongue out at him.

"Oh wow, he really got you good," Natsu commented, approaching Laxus from the side.

Laxus cracked his fingers, and smirked. "Yeah. But I'll get him back. When the test of courage comes around, we'll see how brave he really is," he muttered as he turned around to attend to the rest of the children. Natsu stopped him by grabbing hold of his elbow.

"Oi, Laxus," Natsu said, slightly worried. "You really shouldn't go overboard. The kid is about 13,"

Laxus shrugged Natsu's hand off of him, turning back for a split second. "Overboard? I'm just doing what a counselor should. I'm going to teach him a lesson that he really needs. I'll humble him," Laxus said, beginning to walk away again. When he noticed that Natsu looked seriously unnerved, Laxus let out a chuckle and nudged Natsu playfully in the ribs.

"Relax!" Laxus boomed. "He'll thank me for this later!"

* * *

**A/N: **_I think we can take this opportunity to take the camp chapters to build up, not only Mirajane and Laxus, but only some of the other minor characters as well. Stay tuned for more! _


	8. Chapter 7 - Courage

**A/N: **_Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima._

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Courage  
**

* * *

"I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills, I love the flowers..." Lucy began to sing softly. After every verse, the young boys and girls began to repeat after her, they were completely off tune and were not in sync with each other at all, but she still found it sweet, the kind of sweetness that you could only find in the voices of innocent children. Lucy could notice, however, that out of her entire group, all but one was singing. It was Romeo, the young boy who had gotten into a confrontation with Laxus earlier.

"Boom dee ah dah! Boom dee ah dah!" Natsu screeched, even more off tune than the children, and not nearly as sweet, Lucy thought. She appreciated his energetic effort though, and it seemed like the kids were enjoying it too, insisting on singing along with the pink haired man, rather than simply repeating after him. After a while, Lucy halted her guitar playing while Natsu began to pass out roasted weenies among the children. They couldn't catch much fish, but fortunately, there was always an extra food supply just in case things went south.

The only people who didn't seem to be enjoying themselves were Romeo and Laxus. The junior counselor was observing Romeo intently, while the adolescent boy was looking away hesitantly, clearly unnerved by Laxus' uncharacteristic behavior. Suddenly, Laxus' sensitive ears perked up as he heard footsteps coming his way. He turned his head to the source of the noise and could see Wendy walking towards him, a stick in both hands. She raised one hand and beckoned for Laxus to take it. "Here,"

"Thanks," he said, warmly. Looking satisfied, Wendy poorly saluted as though to say "no problem!", took a quick look at Romeo who was gloomy as ever before scurrying back to join Lucy and Natsu who were still gathered around the campfire with the rest of the kids. Once she was too far to hear him, Romeo scoffed bitterly.

Laxus stood up, brought his weary body over to Romeo and sat beside him. He grabbed Romeo's hand, as gently as he could and placed the roasted weenie on a stick in his hand. "For you," he started, without much kindness or gentleness in his voice. "I'm sure you're hungry, right?" but Romeo did not reply. He simply took a reluctant bite out of the sausage before spitting it out.

"It's no good," he commented, handing the stick back to Laxus, getting up an d walking away, kicking a pebble as he did so.

"That kid's attitude really is no good," Laxus closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, roughly a couple of seconds later, he noticed that Natsu was now sitting beside him, eagerly chopping away on various pieces of roasted meat. After finishing all the food he had, Natsu began to hungrily eye the weenie on a stick that Laxus had been holding. Although Romeo had taken a bite off it already, it did not seem to deter Natsu.

"You going to eat that?" he asked. Laxus, not seeing the need for words, simply shoved the stick into Natsu's mouth. "Mh... uff..." the fiery haired junior counselor tried to say, although it was impossible to make out what he was saying when there was something in his mouth. Laxus got up and headed for the campfire. Lucy didn't look like she was having a hard time, but one person to control 15 kids? He would feel bad if he didn't help.

"Hey!" Natsu started, taking the stick out of his mouth. "Laxus, where you headed?!"

* * *

"Misaki and Takumi, Sawako and Kazehaya... Yoshioka and Kou... I think these would be the best groups," Lucy suggested. "Oh, and Romeo with Kokoro while Wendy pairs up with Kippei,"

"Sure, whatever you want, Luce," Natsu said, bored. Suddenly, he began to get all energetic again. "Man, I can't wait to scare the kids. You know they say this forest is really haunted? Sure, the counselors are the ones dressing up as monsters and stuff, but what if we run into a real ghost?"

"That's nonsense. There's no such thing as ghosts," Lucy scolded him, lightly slapping him on the wrist when he began to make some monster noises. She turned to Laxus. "These groups are okay with you, right?" she asked, in a hopeful tone.

A wide smirk appeared on Laxus' face. For some reason, Lucy and Natsu could feel a sinister aura coming from the young man. He took the notepad and pen from Lucy. "Yeah, these pairings are great. However, I have just one change. We should pair Wendy with Romeo and Kokro with Kippei," he said, scribbling down the names.

"Wendy hates Romeo though," Natsu piped up, with only a slight bit of interest. Lucy stayed quiet.

"Wrong," Laxus corrected him. "Wendy doesn't hate Romeo. It isn't the other way around either. I think Wendy would love to get along with Romeo. It's Romeo's bad attitude that is the problem here,"

"Even so," Lucy began. "It might not be such a great idea to put them together. The groups are suppose to be one boy and one girl, but maybe we should make an exception? Kokoro with Wendy and Kippei with Romeo...?"

"Forget it," Laxus replied, clearly overstepping his boundary as a junior counselor. Technically speaking, Lucy would get the last call since she was the most senior of all the current counselors. However, she seemed reluctant to challenge Laxus at that moment in time. He seemed adamant on having the groups set like this. Sighing, she muttered. "Fine,"

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Laxus grinned, playfully. "By the end of the night, I think Wendy and Romeo will be closer, and as a result, the kid's attitude will improve. Once the fear kicks in, they will be inseparable. I was a kid once, you know, and no young boy will pass off the opportunity to play a hero anyway," he told them. With a grin still plastered on his face, Laxus picked up and placed the mask on his head. "How do I look?" he asked them.

"Scary," Lucy murmured, although there was no real emotion or fear behind her words.

"You look more frightening without the mask!" Natsu roared, as he fell to the ground laughing and pointing. Laxus grumbled something under his breath as he walked away, slinking off into the forest to take his post, leaving Lucy and Natsu by themselves. The two of them then walked over to the aforementioned Misaki and Takumi, the first pair to head into the forest. Neither of the two kids looked remotely scared, but rather, Misaki looked irritated whereas Takumi was blankly staring in the opposite direction.

The game itself was simple. All of the children would get together, and be paired off into two - preferably one boy and one girl. The two of them would then head off into the forest occupied by 'monsters', who in reality, were simply the counselors who were dressed in elaborate costumes. Except Laxus, of course, as the big man decided that a simple, cheap looking devil mask would be suffice to scare some youngsters. Lucy and Natsu were required to monitor the children as they headed in, so they did not have to dress up. It was just as well too, as Natsu going into his average hysteria and ruining the whole thing was likely and the only one who could possibly control the fiery haired man was Lucy. Therefore, they were the two selected to sit out on the "fun".

That was the test of courage.

Lucy walked as the second last couple, Kippei and Kokoro headed into the forest, the young girl's hand tightly gripped Kippei's shoulder. While Kippei tried to maintain a brave face, it was clear to Lucy that he was just as frightened as she was, if not more. The young boy's hand turned red as he turned away, desperate not to catch Kokoro's gaze. Honestly, Lucy thought. Little kids could be so cute sometimes! She marked the two of them off as they both cautiously headed into the forest. The only pair left was Romeo and Wendy.

"Are you ready?" Lucy asked, as the two of them approached. Lucy noticed that neither of them were looking at each other.

"Are you ready, Romeo?" Wendy asked, parroting Lucy's question.

The purple haired boy shrugged apathetically. "Whatever,"

* * *

Somewhere deep within the forest, something was stirring. It was dark, the only source of light being the crescent moon that seemed to radiate it's light everyone except the small plot of land where the two figures were crouching. They were both male figures. One was slender, reasonably tall, perhaps around the 178cm mark whereas the other male figure was much more stocky and considerably taller than the other figure, somewhere around the 190cm mark.

The slender, shorter figure stood up. "Laxus, is that you?"

"Yeah," the taller figure's voice muffled, the sound barely being audible through the mask. "Jellal?"

"Yes," Jellal responded, outstretching his arm and slowly removing Laxus' mask. "Sorry, I just had to make sure. Honestly, I thought your costume would be... better," he murmured. "Can you really scare kids with a cheap devil mask?"

"I could scare them without the devil mask," Laxus retorted, causing Jellal to chuckle slightly. "Tap a kid on the back and shout 'boo' when he turns around? That is just a jump scare, it isn't real fear. Kids come to this summer camp to learn things, right? I'll teach them a lesson,"

"Kids come to this camp to have fun, Laxus," Jellal replied, but Laxus did not hear him. The tall, blonde man simply pointed towards two small figures who were coming their way. Laxus instinctively grabbed his mask from Jellal's hand and placed it back on, properly.

"Look," Laxus smirked. "My first victims."


	9. Chapter 8 - Hero

**DISCLAIMER: **_FAIRY TAIL BELONGS TO HIRO MASHIMA._

* * *

**Chapter 8 - Hero**

* * *

"Hey, hey, Kou. Are you sure this is the right way?" the young Yoshioka asked as the two of them dragged their weary bodies across the forest. "I said hey!" Yoshioka suddenly stopped in her tracks causing her partner Kou to also stop. He looked back at her, a lazy grin etched onto his face. She wasn't able to tell whether he was being serious or just playing around. Puffing her cheeks out, Yoshioka folded her arms and looked away.

"I'm not too sure whether this is the right way or not, Yoshi," Kou began. "But aren't things more interesting like this? And more fun too," he added, grabbing Yoshioka's hand and dragging her along with him. The ice cold and apathetic way in which he spoke was seen as 'cool' by the other girls and boys but it only irritated Yoshioka. Although she had to admit that there were times when it was reassuring, almost as if nothing could go wrong as long as she placed her faith in him.

"Fun? It's suppose to be scary..." her voice trailed off as she allowed Kou to dominate the pace at which they moved. Before Laxus could jump out and scare them, the young boy and girl were already out of sight. Mumbling something under his breath, Jellal and Laxus appeared from the bush.

"I thought you were going to scare them," Jellal chided as Laxus tore off the mask. He grunted something and turned away. This was all apart of Laxus' innate charm. He acted as though he would drive through anything and anyone that stood in his way, but in reality, he was actually a big softie at heart. It was something that Jellal had discerned from his personality, back when they first met.

"As if I could scare two kids having a moment like that," the blonde haired man grumbled, his mild features being illuminated by the moonlight. "I'll get the next couple for sure though. To make up for this missing opportunity, I'll frighten them twice as much and then..." he stopped speaking the minute Jellal placed a hand on his shoulder and a finger to his lips.

"Shh, Laxus. You don't have to prove anything to me. You're plenty scary. Setting Romeo straight is your goal, right? How do you intend to do that?" Jellal inquired, fairly interested, yet confident that he already knew the answer. Laxus smirked.

"Obviously, once the two brats pass by, all I have to do is scare them both right? I'll send them both packing hand in hand and after that, they'll be friends. Great plan, right?" he explained, as though scaring two kids into friendship was a perfectly natural thing to do. He wiped the sweat on his forehead away with his hand before putting the mask back on, and suddenly, he was a fearsome werewolf again who's only interest was striking fear into innocent hearts.

Jellal sighed and rubbed his temples. "Yeah, I had a feeling that it was going to be something insane like that," he patted Laxus on the back and took a single foot out of the bush before turning back to face the big man. "Well, good luck. It sounds outrageous to me, but who knows? It might work. At the very least, you'll give both those kids a mutual interest - they'll both be scared shitless of you!" he profaned, somewhat uncharacteristically. Still shaking his head in disbelief, yet not completely disapproval, Jellal left the scene leaving Laxus alone with his thoughts and the approaching couple.

"Quit tugging on my shirt!" Romeo growled eyeballing the small and pale hand that was gripping the fabric of his tee-shirt. He made no attempt to pry her hand off though, even though he probably would have been able to do so fairly easily. This threat, however, was not enough to get Wendy to let go. If anything, she actually began to tug tighter. This irritated Romeo even more. "What is your problem?!"

"...You're not scared, Romeo?" Wendy squeaked, spooked by the sound that she had heard coming from her left hand side. Fortunately, the sound turned out to be nothing more than the rustling of the leaves. The boy placed his hand on Wendy's wrist and shook it from his own, gentler than his voice would have suggested.

"There's nothing to be scared of. This is all fake anyway. Every monster, ghoul, ghost... it's just one of the counselors in a lame mask or wearing makeup. Stuff only babies are scared of," he boasted, although there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. As luck would have it though, Wendy did not doubt Romeo's words or tough exterior, act or not.

"Aye,"

The bush rustled for a second, then stopped, before continuing to rustle. Romeo and Wendy did not move, their eyes fixated on the bush and their heads filled with thoughts of what kind of unimaginable terror would show itself to them. Romeo's brave words comforted the young girl slightly, but in truth, she was still quiet terrified. Romeo, who knew the emptiness of his own boasts, was not quite so comforted and was beginning to doubt himself. He had always imagined tests of courage to be nothing more than simple jump scares, but there was a certain amount of tension being built right now, inconsistent with his own idea.

"Wh-who's there?" Romeo attempted to sound bold, but his stutter gave away his fabricated act. A low cackle began to emit from the bush as a figure began to rise from it. Romeo gulped and began to straighten up his body, trying to look as tall and confident as he could. Wendy's hands were both wrapped around his arms now, but he didn't seem to notice. He was too busy trying to keep his entire figure from melting, but it was likely already too late. His legs had already begun to feel like jelly.

"Oh well," the figure sighed, although there was a dash of delight in his voice. "It looks like I got caught. Whatever will I do?" he shifted his head towards Romeo. From the children's perspective, they could only see a tall, brooding figure and because of the bush, it almost looked as though his body was floating. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, the massive figure took a single step towards them, taking his body out of the bush and making his facial features much easier to see.

"Gah!" Romeo and Wendy both managed to splutter out in unison. The figure was grotesque, its face was a pale green, not so green that he looked like an alien from a cartoon, but more like the boding green that suggested vomit. His eyes were large, much larger than an average human, making the fact that he lacked pupils much more terrifying. A stream of red liquid was also trailing down from his massive orbs down to his lips, a liquid that could only be blood. It accommodated his bright red cheeks and lips well though.

"Hello children," the figure rasped as though it was unused to speak in a human's tongue. "Are you well?"

Romeo stepped forward slightly while Wendy stepped back, their hands still joined together. "I know it's just a counselor. Big guy like you... Laxus, right? Wipe off the makeup, you big dummy! No adult takes a test of courage this far!" he shouted, unsure of what else he could have said. He thought that if he made it known that he was aware, the figure would take off his mask, revealing himself to be nothing more than a counselor. The figure spoke again, this time in a bemused tone although his face suggest that irritation.

"Oh? You children are using this place as the venue for your test of courage?" the figure smacked his lips together, making a sound not dissimilar to how a person would suck on a lollypop. "I suppose your being here was a result of you being bad children," he concluded. "And I have no sympathy for bad children, you know," he took a single step closer, yet Romeo and Wendy remained rooted to the spot.

"Stop... stop kidding around..." Romeo uttered, his voice shaking with every word. The figure only seemed to revel in delight at the boy's quite obvious fear, almost as if fear was a physical dish, a dish worth savoring.

"Please..." Wendy inputted, just for good measure but the figure did not seem to hear, and if he did, he certainly did not care as he continued his trek towards them, his footsteps growing louder with every single step. Thud, thud, thud. Suddenly, he stopped and looked back towards the bush from whence he emerged earlier.

"If you go far enough that way, you should see a barbed wired gate, boy, girl," he addressed the two of them by their genders since he did not know their names, nor did he feel like guessing the names of the soon to be deceased. "A large gate that spans around a massive yard. In the middle of the yard is a building. St Gregory's is its name, or if you would rather call it, an asylum for the insane," the figure took another step forward.

"You should... come... with... me!" he snarled quickly as he extended his hand. His intention was to grab Romeo and drag the boy towards him. Wendy, who was holding onto Romeo would also be pulled in his direction and with his free hand, he could grab the girl and make his escape. They could scream sure, but with the forest's deepness and the shadows of the night, they would not be able to find him.

However, as foolproof as that plan was, the hand that he grabbed was not the pale and slender hand of a young child but rather the more refined and scarred hand of an adult. Before the dark figure could grab Romeo, a man close in size to the massive figure had wedged himself between the children and the figure. The dark figure snapped back, hissing at his new adversary.

"Damn. You're almost as ugly as I am," the newly arrived Laxus provoked as he placed his hand on his own face. He took off his own mask and threw it aside. "Well, why don't you speak up? Who the hell are you?" he questioned but the figure only recoiled, turned around and began to run.

"Hey, get back here you creep!" Romeo shouted as he geared up to run after the figure. Laxus put a single hand on the boy's shoulder though and he immediately relaxed. Suddenly, Laxus ran after the figure and managed to catch up to him just as he jumped into the bush. By stretching out his favored right hand and putting it into the bush, Laxus was able to drag the child abductor out.

"Is it a mask? Is it a mask?!" Wendy cried out, pointing at the figure's grotesque excuse of a face, an anxious expression on her face. The same anxious expression was also printed onto Romeo's face. Laxus began to chuckle, as he picked up a bottle of water from the ground. He uncapped the bottle before pouring it over the figure's head, causing his makeup to drain down.

"Of course it wasn't a mask. Just incredibly detailed and artistic makeup. And an amazing performance to go along with it. Isn't that right, Head Counselor?" Laxus asked as the wet 'figure' looked up at his captors. The head councilor was not a looker by any means, but his real appearance was not nearly as unsightly as the persona that he donned. "Head counselor Jura, the man of a 1000 faces and former theater actor. Maybe you have heard of him?" the blonde man added, addressing the two puzzled kids.

"How did you know it was me, Laxus?" Jura smirked, his tone suggested that he was somewhere between impressed and disheartened that his cover was blown so easily. Laxus shrugged, as he helped the head councilor to his feet. Wendy and Romeo were still quite wary of Jura and began to take cover behind Laxus when Jura arose. Up close, he practically dwarfed them and was almost a head taller than Laxus, a man who was already quite tall in his own right.

"Mira... ah, that's Mirajane," Laxus informed him. "She told me that you had a habit of taking this a bit too far. I didn't want you doing that to my kids," he muttered, almost turning red as he motioned towards Wendy and Romeo, who were both still hiding behind the junior councilor.

Jura began to chuckle. "What a filial councilor," he praised as he bent over slightly so that he was more on level with Wendy and Romeo. "Boy, girl," he cooed softly, in a voice so unlike the voice of the grotesque figure that Romeo and Wendy almost doubted that Jura and him were the same person. "Let me ask you. Were you scared?" he probed.

Wendy nodded, as she engulfed three of Laxus' fingers with her whole hand. "Yes,"

Laxus, Jura and Wendy all turned their attention to Romeo who was still looking up at Jura. "And you, boy?"

Romeo bit his lip and thought for a second, averting himself away from their gaze. Amused, Laxus used his free hand to ruffle Romeo's hair slightly. Immediately after that, the young boy turned his head back towards the three of them.

"Yeah," he started. "I was scared,"

* * *

**A/N: **Do I even deserve any of you great readers? Honestly, I'm not sure since I admit that I ended up neglecting this story, and in turn, everyone who enjoys it. I'll have to take this opportunity to wish you guys not only a belated Christmas, but a belated New Year as well! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!


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